


The Billionaire's Genious Daughter

by booyah_kaylaxeliz



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awkward Peter Parker, F/M, Irondad, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2020-07-29 10:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20080513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booyah_kaylaxeliz/pseuds/booyah_kaylaxeliz
Summary: Ever since the Avengers were formed, Tony Stark has made sure to keep his daughter away and hidden from them in fear of putting her in danger. When Eliza is accidentally introduced to three if the team members one afternoon, it soon becomes the start of a crazy adventure for her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Avengers fic, I loved all the MCU movies but I definitely don't have every single detail so don't roast me too hard if I mess this up

Eliza Stark, daughter of the one and only Tony Stark, had never met the Avengers and her father wanted to keep it that way. He believed that if she started to get mixed up with the team, she would step in a whole mess of danger.

The now 16 year old girl lived with her mom in a cozy apartment in Manhattan that was just a quick subway ride away from the Avengers tower. While never having met the Avengers themselves, Eliza has visited the tower on many occasions to work with her father in his lab. Tony was extremely proud of his daughter's knack for building things and willingness to learn more about the complex things he designs and builds.

"I'll see you on Friday, love you dad." Eliza leaned and hugged her father after he walked her up to her mother's apartment.

"Love you too peanut." Tony kissed the top of her head and she ran off to her room.

"You sure next week won't be a problem?" Michelle, Eliza's mother, asked and looked at her ex.

"Of course it won't be, we'll have fun but still make sure homework gets done." Tony said with a smile making the the woman chuckle.

Michelle Pierce was one of Tony's exes that he actually still enjoyed the company of. They had dated for a little over six months before calling it quits back in his playboy prime. Michelle had discovered she was pregnant shortly before they broke up and Tony couldn't be any more glad that he made the decision to stay and take car of his baby even after him and Michelle broke up.

"I'll be in Clinton which is about 4 hours away but if you guys need anything, give me a call and I'll head back as soon as I can." Michelle said with a slight undertone of worry in her voice.

"I promise that we will manage for the week." Tony assured the woman who was freaking out nearly six days before she left. Michelle was a construction manager for a pretty big construction business. She often travelled for a day or two at a time to oversee projects withing the five boroughs but this time she was going upstate for a pretty big project and would be gone for a week.

"I know, I trust you and Liz but I've never been away from her for this long while being that far away." Tony gave his ex a quick hug and assured her that the feeling was normal but it was truly going to be okay.

"I should get back downstairs before Happy leaves me here, have a good night Mick." Tony shot her a soft smile which she happily returned.

"You too Tony, I'll make sure she gets everything packed and is ready to go on Friday." And with that, Tony left the apartment to go back to the tower.

*

When Friday finally rolled around, Tony was in an extra good mood. His daughter was staying with him for a whole week, it had been a while since she stayed with him for anything more than just a few days. 

Michelle had dropped off their daughters packed duffel bag off at the tower after taking Eliza to school then she was off to Clinton. 

Tony hummed as he read the news on his tablet in the common area of the tower. He was practically counting down the time before he got to go pick up Eliza from school.

Tony wasn't the onky one that was excited to get their week together started, Eliza was anxiously waiting aswell.

"Eliza?" The teachers voice broke the teen out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" Eliza answered and looked up to the front of the classroom.

"Could you come up and solve number six on the board for us?" Mr. Anderson said with a smirk. Eliza nodded, grabbing her Algebra 2 book and carrying it up to the white board with her. She loved math but hated this teacher, he pushed her harder than the other kids in the class in hopes to eventually hit her with a subject she will struggle with. Being a Stark had some downsides and this was one of them.

Eliza quickly wrote the problem on the board using a black marker.

5(- 3x - 2) - (x - 3) = -4(4x + 5) + 13.

She stared at it for a few seconds before the solution clicked in her head and she was able to work through the steps within 20 seconds.

"Since the answer of zero equals zero is true for all values of x, all real numbers are solutions to the equation." Eliza stated simply before capping the marker and setting it down, promptly heading back to her seat.

After Algebra 2 passed as slow as can be, she moved on to Honors English 10. That class passed quickly as they read a few chapters of A Raisin in the Sun. Eliza made her way to her favorite class of the day, AP US History. She like it so much because history was her second favorite subject plus she got to learn more about Captain Rogers since her father refuses to let her meet the Avengers.

Eliza couldn't necessarily say she was mad at her dad for making her avoid the team, it was more of a mild annoyance and inconvenience. She had to plan her time at the tower according to if the team was going to be there and if they were, where they were going to be because Tony didn't want her to get caught up in the messyness that is the superhero team.

The rest of the day passed smoothly with lunch, programming, then chemistry. As soon as the final bell rang, Eliza shouldered her backpack and quickly made her way into the buzzing hallways.

"Hey, Liz, slow down." Her best friend, Alexa, called with a laugh. The other teen ran up to Eliza with their friend Kyle in tow.

"Sorry, I'm just excited to spend time with my dad." Eliza giggled, weaving her way between people in the hall with her friends close by. 

"I know, don't forget to ask about coming to the party tomorrow night." Alexa said excitedly.

"First of all, I love you but I don't want to party, and second, my dad would never say yes to me going to a party." Eliza shrugged and stepped around a kid tying his shoe in the middle of the hall.

"That's so boring, I bet you'd love partying if you actually try it." Kyle teased and she rolled her eyes playfully.

"I'll catch you guys later, my ride is here." Eliza waved her friends off when she spotted the sleek black Cadillac in the parking lot. She figured that he would send Happy and it's not a problem with her, Eliza loves Happy.

"Don't forget to ask!" Alexa yelled as she walked away.

"Hey Hap, how has your day been?" Eliza asked as she slid into the back of the car. The man smiled at her.

"Pretty good, you ready to spend the week with your dad?" He asked as he carefuly pulled out of his parking spot and then out of the parking lot.

"Always, I love reaking havoc with my old man." Eliza joked, pulling out her phone to text her mom that Happy had gotten her from school and everything was okay.

Happy and Eliza made small talk all the way to the tower. Once they had arrived, Happy pulled up to the front of the building where Tony was waiting outside.

"Hey peanut." Tont greeted happily as Eliza clammored out of the backseat of the car and ran to hug her dad.

"What do we get to work on today?" She asked as they walked inside and to the elevator.

"I was thinking I could introduce you to the layout of AI." He offered and the teen nodded excitedly.

The elevator ride was quick up and Eliza made a b-line for the lab when they stepped off.

"Should I grab snacks?" Tony asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Of course." Eliza said before scanning her hand and gaining access to the lab. Tony chuckled to himself before turning on his heel and heading to the kitchen.

Eliza was quick to make herself comfortable in the lab, her backpack was quickly discarded by the door and she was soon gawking over the pieces of her dad's Iron Man suit laying on one of the lab benches.

"Hey JARVIS, can you play dad and I's playlist?" She asked as she gently touched an unpainted repulsor glove.

"Of course, Miss Stark." The AI confirmed before the sounds of Van Halen flowed through the speakers. She had grown up with her dad listening to classic rock which made up quite a bit of their playlist but she had gotten him interested in some newer rock bands which she added to the list of songs.

"I think we could come up with a killer mock up paint job for this suit." Eliza muttered to herself as she picked up her dad's discarded tablet. He had a program installed that she liked to mess with where he would upload a plain design of the new suit and she would go in and color it whichever way she felt fitting.

It wasn't until she had come up with a decent idea of a how she would like the colors to lay on the suit, did she realize how long her dad had been gone.

"Hey J, pause the music." Eliza said as she stood up and stretched. The music cut off in the middle of I Wanna Rock by Twisted Sister. The teen grabbed the tablet off the lab bench an left the lab, she had been in there for nearly an hour and her dad still hadn't come down.

"Dad, I know you get easily distracted but an hour is a long time to leave me hanging." Eliza joked as she walked into the common area, freezing when she realized her dad wasn't alone.

Tony muttered a quick 'shit' under his breath as Steve, Natasha, and Clint looked between Tony and the strange teen girl that had just shown up.

"I-I should go." The girl said in a small voice and Tony sighed.

"Come over here, I take it you wanted to show something to me?" The other three avengers could tell Tony was frustrated but definitely had a soft spot for the girl.

"Tony-" Steve started but Tony hushed him.

"Not now capsicle." Tony said and took the tablet his daughter was handing him.

"I got bored waiting for you to come back so I worked on a possible color pattern for the new suit. It keeps the original red and gold theme but introduces a new flair by incorporating sleek silver details." Eliza spoke softly, intimidated by the three Avengers staring her down.

"I really like this, finalize it and we'll put it on the suit." Tony smiled when he saw Eliza's face light up.

"Really?" She asked and he nodded.

"Head back to the lab and I'll be there in a bit, don't forget to get started on your homework too." Eliza nodded quickly and practically skipped in the direction of the lab, practically forgetting about the Avengers standing there.

"She called you dad, you have a daughter?" Steve asked slowly and Tont sighed again before nodding.

"For how long?" Clint blurted out but judging by the look on Steve and Nat's faces, they were thinking the same thing.

"Since she was born? Just because you guy's didn't know about her, doesn't meen she hasn't been around very long." Tony took a seat on the couch and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Steve asked in confusion.

"I was and still am worried that her even just knowing the team will get her mixed up into all sorts of dangerous shit and I can't deal with that. She's my world and I'm not letting anything happen to her." Tony sat back, the snacks he was bringing to his daughter over an hour ago sat forgotten on the island in the kitchen. He had gathered them up only to have the super soldier and two assasins walk in to talk to him about a possible threat.

"You know that if you told us about her, we would've protected her aswell." Clint spoke up and the other two nodded in agreement.

"Well now I'm holding you to that." Tony stated firmly, he pretty much had to tell the rest of the team and formally introduce Eliza to them.

"Plus you act like this is a big deal when Barton kept two kids and a wife hidden from us." Tony added in and shook his head.

This accidental meeting just opened up a shit ton more worrying on Tony's behalf and a very strange conversation with Michelle.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza meets the rest of the Avengers and Tony is a worried dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be divulging from the mcu a bit, I wanna bring our boy spidey in but civil war would really throw a wrench in my plans if I include how long it took for Steve and Tony to begin talking again, pretty much what I am saying is that I am going to be playing with the timelines between different movies so it fits my vision for this story lol

Eliza followed Happy out of the sleek black Cadillac. She was looking forward to just getting upstairs to her room and falling face down into her bed. She had woken up feeling a little under the weather but brushed it off as her allergies acting up, half way through the day she felt like death was coming for her with how bad her head hurt, and throat burned for no reason. Eliza had thought about coming home but she knew her dad's schedule was all over the place and didn't want to bother him or Happy.  
"Everything alright, kid?" Happy asked as they walked through the towers lobby, the teen was noticeably walking slower and just all around seemed off.  
"Yeah, just thinking I need a nap. Don't worry Hap." Eliza smiled softly at the man before he pressed the elevator button for her.  
"Let me know if you need anything." He told her as the doors opened and she stepped inside the elevator, she nodded as the doors slid closed with him on the other side. Eliza swiped her security card that gained her access to the personal floors of the tower.  
"Good afternoon, Miss Stark." The posh voice that belonged to her father’s AI, Jarvis, broke through the nice peace and quiet of the elevator.  
"Hey J." The teen replied before letting out a small yawn.  
"Miss Stark, you appear to be running a low-grade fever. Are you experiencing any other symptoms? Should I alert your father?" The AI asked and Eliza sighed lightly.  
"Don't bother him J, I'm okay." She assured the bot who stayed quiet for the rest of the elevator trip.  
Eliza stepped out of the elevator once it had slowed to a stop and the doors slid open, she groaned lightly when she realized she hit the wrong button and ended up two floors below her dad's floor where her room was. By the time she turned to get back on, the doors were already closed, and she knew it would probably take longer than she had the patience to wait for it to come back.  
As Eliza turned to head for the couch, she heard voices coming from the small lounge on her left. Tony had included several spots of comfort within the more personal floors once it turned from Stark Tower to the Avengers Tower.  
She dropped her heavy backpack on the floor, deciding if she cared enough to go investigate whoever is down the hall in the lounge. The voices got quieter after a loud thud was produced from her bag hitting the ground.  
"Peanut, is that you?" Her dad's voice met her ears before she saw him step out of the lounge.  
"Obviously old man, who else would it be? Your little dream team?" Eliza teased. No matter how sick she was starting to feel, she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to mess with her dad.

"You're just jealous you aren't a member, and what did I tell you about throwing your bag around willy nilly? You're going to break this tower." Tony joked and motioned for her to come join him in the lounge.  
"Sorry dude, I've been planning to take a bomb nap since like, 3rd period today." Eliza shrugged and motioned to the couch. Her dad just continued gesturing for her to walk down until she just rolled her eyes and did what he wanted.  
"You can take your nap in like 5 minutes, you're such a little hermit sometimes." He ruffled her hair when she got close enough, Eliza swatted his hand away and pushed his shoulder.  
"Says the man that spends most of his time in the lab talking to his robots, that, for being made by a genius are actually quite stupid." Her eyes were still on her dad when she entered the room, still putting up a great front to distract from how sick she is starting to feel.  
“Watch you step.” A new voice from behind her made Eliza jump, she looked over her shoulder to see Bruce Banner sitting there. Her eyes flicked to the rug that had gotten scrunched up, she most definitely would’ve tripped over it had he not warned her.  
“Thanks, Dr. Banner.” Eliza mumbled, suddenly feeling shy. She has read many of Doctor Banner’s papers and looks up to him, she was starstruck to say the least. Eliza’s gaze quickly scanned the room to see the entire Avengers team sitting in various spots in the room.  
“Eliza, this is the dream team as you call it. You met Clint, Natasha, and Steve the other day. This is Dr. Bruce Banner and Thor. This is Eliza, my mini me and Bruce’s biggest fan.” Tony gave the run down only to be hushed by his daughter when he mentioned her being a fan.  
“It’s nice to meet you, Eliza.” Bruce spoke up, extending his hand to her. She shook his hand and smiled a little.  
“She really enjoyed your paper on the identification of the human chromosome that has control of the expression of super genes.” Tony tossed in and smirked when his daughter shot him a look.  
“You understand that stuff?” Steve asked with a bewildered expression making Eliza laugh a little.  
“Yeah, I would like to say that I take after my dad in the brains department.” She said with a shrug and a light blush spread across her cheeks.  
“A small Stark, I have a feeling I’m going to like her more than the original Stark.” Thor added in making her laugh again.  
“Oh hush point break.” Tony crossed his arms and shook his head.  
“One day you’ll have to accept that I am a more manageable version of you, I’m pretty sure Pepper favors me because I’m not a PR nightmare.” Eliza shrugged, her smirk was disrupted by a big yawn.  
“Yep Tony, I like her much more.” Clint said as he watched the interaction.  
Tony rolled his eyes playfully and reached to pull his kid in for a hug, “I was going to tell you to go take your nap, but you are feeling really warm. You feeling okay?” he asked and placed a hand against her forehead.  
“Sir, Miss Stark is running a low-grade fever. The recommended course of action would be for her to take acetaminophen as well as rest and stay hydrated.” The AI interrupted before Eliza could say anything.  
“Dang J, just ignore the whole conversation we had in the elevator and snitch on me.” Eliza muttered but leaned into her father’s hug.  
“I’ll be right back, then we can continue this conversation.” Tony told the team before leading his daughter out of the room, “Let’s get you some Tylenol then down for your nap.” He chuckled and kissed her head.  
“I promise I’m alright, it’s just a headache and a bit of a sore throat.” Eliza said and waved it off only to receive an unamused look from her dad.  
“How long have you been feeling sick? Should I call your mom and see what we should do?” Tony asked as he began searching through the cabinets in the kitchen where he knew they had a bottle of Tylenol somewhere.  
“I woke up not feeling well and it got worse, don’t call mom. She’ll just freak out and make it a bigger deal than it is.” She accepted the two white pills her dad had shaken out of the bottle he pulled out of the cabinet.  
“After you take these, I want you to go lay down. I’ll wake you up for dinner and we’ll see if you feel any better.” Tony instructed as he passed her a bottle of water from the fridge. She quickly took both pills and nodded.  
“Okay, stop telling Doctor Banner how much I look up to him.” Eliza told her dad as she grabbed her bag from the floor and started for the elevator.  
“No promises, I haven’t even told him about you citing his research on gender and sexuality in your sociology paper last year.” Eliza glared and Tony who laughed, the doors to the elevator slid open and she stepped in.  
The ride was short seeing as she was only going up two floors, it required another swipe of her security card but that was nothing when she thought about how close she was to getting in her bed.  
Once in her room, Eliza swapped her school clothes for sweatpants and sweatshirt before pulling her long brown hair into a messy bun.  
“JARVIS, can you close the blinds for me?” Within a second of making the request, the teen watched as blinds descended over her windows to leave her room dark. She grabbed her remote and flipped on the tv, scrolling through channels until she landed on reruns of Supernatural. Eliza didn’t even make it through one complete episode before she fell sound asleep all wrapped up in her fuzziest and most comfy blanket.  
*  
Three hours later, Tony peaked into his daughter’s room to see her still asleep. He quietly approached the bed and placed a gentle hand on her forehead. Tony silently cursed when she felt warmer than earlier.  
“Liz,” He started as he rubbed her shoulder lightly, “wake up for me peanut.”  
It didn’t take long for her lashes to flutter slightly and her eyes to open.  
“What time is it?” Eliza mumbled as she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.  
“It’s almost 6, the team stayed for dinner. There’s spaghetti downstairs if you’re hungry.” Tony offered as he reached up and brushed hair out of her face that had fallen out of her bun during her nap.  
“I am a little hungry.” Tony nodded and waited for her to get out of bed. He chuckled a little when he noticed she was sporting one of his old MIT sweatshirts. Once she was out of bed and stretched, they made their way to the elevator and rode it down two floors before stepping out.  
“Hey kid, you good?” Clint asked when he saw the father daughter duo walk in the room.  
“Kind of want to die but it is what it is I guess.” Eliza said with a shrug as she grabbed a plate from the cupboard. Tony watched as she only served herself a small amount spaghetti before taking a seat at the dining table with the team.  
He grabbed a bottle of water and set it in front of the girl who thanked him before taking a bite of her food.  
“No problem, kid.” He said and ruffled her hair slightly.  
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so nice to someone besides Pepper.” Nat said as she swallowed her bite of food.  
“What? I’m always so nice to you guys.” Tony retorted, not bothering to get food before sitting down next to his kid.  
“When we first worked together, you tried to get me to Hulk out.” Bruce pointed out, Eliza made a sound of disapproval and gave her dad a look.  
“Eat your dinner.” He told her and turned back the rest of the table.  
“You have ridiculous names for all of us.” Steve added in and Tony feigned hurt.  
“I thought you loved when I called you capsicle.” He practically whined which made Eliza giggle.  
“You also had zero motivation to work with us at first.” Nat spoke again and Clint followed it up with, “You’re also just a dick sometimes”  
That made Eliza full on laugh, the sound brought a smile to Tony’s face. It’s been too long since he has had her with him for as long as he will and her having fun is all he wants when they’re together.  
“Laugh it up while you can because I’m about to embarrass the hell out of you.” Tony smirked before turning to Bruce, “When we started working together, she didn’t really care about the super soldier over there or anyone else on the team really, but she would non-stop ask questions about your research. She cited some of your work in a paper she wrote in sociology last year.” Eliza’s laughter stopped and she turned bright red, she had just been outed to her idol about how much she looks up to him.  
“Sociology? They teach that in high school now?” Clint asked and Tony shook his head before replying, “She’s taking a few courses a semester at Guttman, all her decision.”  
Eliza smiled sheepishly when Bruce looked at her in surprise.  
“If you ever need help or anything, you can come to my lab if it’s alright with your dad.” Bruce offered, both himself and the teen turned to look at Tony. Eliza’s eyes were wide desperate.  
“Knock yourself out kid.” Tony said with a wave of his hand and Eliza’s smile grew.  
“Thank you, Doctor Banner.” She told the man across from her at the table who nodded with a smile.  
The conversation around the table resumed at a normal level, giving Eliza time to look at the people at the table and notice that Thor was gone. She didn’t think much of it seeing as how he is the protector of the nine realms. She looked at her plate and her stomach churned at the sight of her remaining food.  
“Dad, I’m not feeling good enough to finish this.” Eliza said quietly and Tony looked her in concern.  
“Do you think you’re going to throw up?” He asked and she shook her head no.  
“I just want to go lay back down.” She said and moved to take her plate to the sink.  
“Leave that, I’ll get it for you peanut. Have JARVIS call me if you need anything.” Tony kissed her forehead and she nodded.  
“It was good to get to know you guys a bit, nice meeting you Doctor Banner. Good night.” Eliza said with a lazy smile as she stood and walked out of the room, the team called a few random ‘good nights’ as she walked out of sight.  
“Hey JARVIS, keep an eye on her for me.” Tony said as he took Eliza’s plate to the sink like he said he would.  
“Of course, sir.” The AI responded, calming Tony’s worries slightly.  
“She seems like a really good kid Tony, I don’t blame you for doing what you did and keeping her secret.” Bruce came up behind Tony to rinse his own plate off before setting in the dishwasher.  
“I didn’t want her to be pressured by strangers to try and live up to everything I did when I was younger when Michelle and I just wanted her to be happy.” Tony said with a shrug and got a pat on the back from Bruce.  
“You’re doing a good job, man.” Bruce assured the billionaire before walking back to the table.  
Man did it help Tony to hear that from someone that wasn’t Michelle or Pepper sometimes.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't the best but I'm still working to figure out how I want this story to evolve and I wanted something like the events of this chapter to unfold so this is what I came up with.

It had been a few weeks since her time together with her father but since Eliza had met the team, she was able to come more freely over to the tower. She absolutely loved it when she got to go there after school and just hang out. Michelle, Tony, and even Pepper had noticed a shift in the girl’s mood, she’s much happier now that she gets to see her father more.  
-  
When Eliza had woken up, she was clearly already excited. It was Friday and Happy was going to be the one to pick her up from school so she could spend the weekend with her dad.   
“I love you baby girl, have fun with your dad this weekend.” Michelle blew her daughter a kiss as the teen got out of the car.  
The day was going by too slow for the teen’s liking, she was ahead on all the major projects that were assigned so she was spending her time just sitting around in class.  
When the bell rang to dismiss for lunch, Eliza was quick to shoulder her bag and leave the room. The halls were already crowded as she neared the lunchroom.  
“You already look so over today.” Alexa said as she came up to walk next to Eliza.  
“That’s because I totally am.” Eliza said with a small chuckle as they entered the bustling lunchroom. They quickly maneuvered their way through the crowd to their usual table where Kyle was already seated with his lunch tray.  
“I don’t think it’s good that you eat nachos every day for lunch.” Alexa teased Kyle as the girls took their seats.   
“I’m here for a good time not a long time Lex.” Kyle spoke as he pointed at the girl with his fork before shoving it in the beef and cheese chip mess.  
Eliza just rolled her eyes at her friends as she pulled out her lunch that she has packed before school.  
“Sup bitches?” Another member of their little group, Logan, sat down next to the Stark girl. None of them knew who her father is, just that her parents are split up and her dad is a successful engineer. She didn’t like lying to them, but she knew that it was better this way.  
“Watch your language, kid.” One of the security guards scolded as he walked by causing Logan’s cheeks to flush in embarrassment.  
“Yes sir.” The teen mumbled as he diverted his gaze towards his grilled cheese while his friends all laughed at him.  
“So Liz, any fun plans with your dad this weekend?” Alexa asked and Eliza shrugged and took a bite of her salad.  
“Sometimes we just work on new projects together and sometimes we go out and do stuff, we just kind of decide the morning of how the day is going to go.” She answered after swallowing her food.  
“Are we ever going to get to meet him? Like, we all know your mom since we see her all the time and we all know each other’s parents, but no one has ever seen your dad.” Logan pointed out and the other two nodded in agreement.  
Eliza really wanted to tell her friends the truth and she knew she could trust them, but she knew that there was always a possibility for it to completely backfire. They have already made fleeting comments about her resemblance to the billionaire that is Tony Stark, but she always just rolls her eyes and ignores it.  
“The situation is a lot more complicated than you think, I’d really love for your guys to meet him and for him to get to know my absolute best friends but it’s not that easy.” Eliza said with a light sigh and her friends were suddenly turned from teasing to concerned, all their lunches were soon forgotten.  
“Oh god he’s in jail, isn’t he?” Kyle blurted out making everyone turn to look at him.  
“What? No. He’s just got a super high-profile job and not a lot of people know that he has a family.” Eliza immediately cursed herself for letting that slip out  
“Okay because that didn’t sound shady in the least bit.” Alexa mumbled as she sipped her water.  
Eliza quickly glanced around before turning back to her friends, “If I tell you about my dad, you literally can not say anything to anyone. Like, I’m talking some seriously scary and good lawyers coming after you for spilling anything.”   
“Can they do that?” Logan asked, suddenly feeling extremely apprehensive about knowing anything.  
“I don’t know but they’ll find a way. I promise I’m not even being dramatic.” Eliza looked at her friends faces, and they all looked weary.  
“I don’t know about the others but if you’re willing to share with us, I promise to keep this secret until the day I die.” Kyle said and put up his pinky. Eliza giggled and hooked her pinky with his before letting go. Both Alexa and Logan soon followed suit and made the same pinky promise.  
The bell rang for them to go back to class before anything could be said about her father, the group all threw their trash away before looking at each other. To anyone else in the cafeteria, it probably looked they were planning something shady.  
“Tony Stark. You guys were right when you said I looked like him and no, I wasn’t a product of his playboy days.” Eliza spoke relatively soft and quick, none of her friends looked like they believed her but they didn’t argue because they had to get to class. Kyle felt lucky he had his next class with Eliza so he could try and decipher if she was lying or not.  
“So you’re telling us that THE Tony Stark, if your dad.” He asked in an obviously disbelieving tone as they approached their classroom.  
“Dude, when have I ever lied about something serious to you guys? I totally understand that it’s pretty outlandish but just look at who it’s coming from.” Eliza pointed out and her friend sighed. They slid into their seats and pulled out their supplies.  
“I really want to believe you, but this is huge.” Kyle ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair.  
Eliza pulled out her phone and found a few pictures of her and her dad and some of her and both of her parents. Kyle’s jaw dropped as he looked at the photos.  
“Holy shit, dude that’s so cool.” He whispered excitedly making the other teen giggle.  
“Remember, you can’t tell anyone.” Eliza reminded and Kyle nodded quickly.  
The bell rang signaling the beginning of class and the end of their conversation. Not even 15 minutes into the lesson, Eliza’s phone buzzed and she snuck a peak at it.  
*Happy and I are on our way, wanna get ice cream and keep it a secret from your mom and Pepper?*  
Eliza smiled and fought back a laugh as she looked up to make sure her teacher wasn’t looking before texting a quick *Of course!*.  
Just minutes later the phone on Mr. Anderson’s desk rang and he stopped his speech on the movement of atoms to answer it.  
“Eliza, you’re getting signed out.” The older teacher told her with a smile, she nodded and quickly packed up her belonging.  
“Remind the other two loud mouths to keep their mouths shut for once.” Eliza mumbled to her friend with a smile and Kyle nodded and gave her a thumbs up, a matching smile on his face.  
The teen shouldered her bag and quickly left the room, luckily her class wasn’t for from the office so it didn’t take her long to reach her destination.  
“Hey kiddo, you ready to go?” Happy asked and she nodded excitedly. They said goodbye to the office staff before leaving.  
“Usual place?” Eliza asked as they left the building and neared the usual black Cadillac that was parked right out front.  
“You know it.” Happy confirmed as he opened the door for her to get into the backseat.  
“Hey peanut, how was school?” Tony asked as his daughter slid into the seat beside him. Eliza immediately thought about how she gave away the one secret she was supposed to keep and was beginning to feel guilty about.  
“Great, ahead in a few classes again.” She covered up her slight falter with a smile and her dad grinned.  
“That’s my girl, now let’s go get that secret ice cream.” Tony nodded to Happy in the rearview mirror and they pulled away from the curb into the busy Manhattan streets.  
They followed the same procedure as always, Eliza and Tony sat at their usual picnic table that was fairly closed off compared to the rest of them and Happy went inside the shop.  
“Does it ever bother you that Happy is always with us when we're out?” Tony asked and looked at his daughter who was watching the cars drive by.  
“Not really. I practically grew up with him around and he's like an uncle, I like having him around.” Eliza replied with a shrug and lazy smile, “Plus we get plenty of father daughter time every time I come over, and that's always a blast.”  
That made Tony smile, he loved hearing that his daughter genuinely enjoyed spending time with him.  
“What do you say we put off homework for a bit when we get home and you and I can watch that show you've been telling me about ?” Tony suggested and his daughter's smile grew as she nodded.  
“Sounds like a good plan to me, I think you'll really like Parks and Rec.” Eliza said as Happy began walking towards them.  
“Don't tell mom or Pepper that I let you skip school and told you to not do homework tonight.” Tony acted stern but they both knew he was just messing around.  
“My lips are sealed.” Eliza smirked lightly as her father and her fist bumped. She totally was going to slip up and tell but they'd deal with that if/when it happened because right now, they had ice cream to eat and jokes to make about each other.


End file.
